"We're not happy about his style and would encourage him to work more collaboratively, but he is also delivering the important results that were for far too long black eyes on the region," Dinegar said during an interview with Post editors and reporters.

In 2006, the Board of Trade endorsed Fenty's Democratic primary rival, Linda Cropp. But Dinegar said Fenty has gone a long way in making the city safer and improving the District's schools.

"We now have a mayor who knocks heads, but the results are speaking volumes."

The board, which includes large national companies and non-profit organizations, will interview all mayoral candidates before making an endorsement in the September primaries. And it should be a lively discussion.

James Dyke, the board's chair, had another take on Fenty. Dyke, who was Virginia's Secretary of Education under former governor Douglas Wilder, said that the mayor could "perhaps get a lot more done if he woked with people" and that there are "questions and concerns about how certain deals have gotten done."

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